


Shipwrecked

by ShivaeSyke



Series: The Cyantian Chronicles [1]
Category: Cyantian Chronicles
Genre: F/M, Shipwrecks, Unrequited Love, love potion, unintentional drugging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23839372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShivaeSyke/pseuds/ShivaeSyke
Summary: On a routine flight, Darius' curiosity gets the better of him and their technology fails, sending their aircraft down into the ocean. The trio of Cyantians, two wolves (who hate each other), and a bat end up stranded on an island that kills all technology that comes to close to it.  How are they going to cope and how are they going to get home?
Relationships: Celina Asara & Lucian, Darius Akaelae & Celina Asara, Darius Akaelae & Lucian
Series: The Cyantian Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717792





	1. Crashlanding

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this here, just to post it here as a backup.

This was Darius’ fault.

Celina focused on the sight of rising land over the low rolling waves she treaded through. When the ship went down, everyone had to jump. Darius pushed her out before she was ready. Instead of landing safely on the land, she ended up in the water with a parachute dragging her down. Quick work with a knife took care of the dragging fabric, but she still had the rope wrapped around one wrist, dragging it behind her. They might need the material if they were stuck here for any length of time.

They were on a routine mission, traveling over the unexplored continent to the far south when their ship lost power. There was only one thing on Cyantia that could cause such a failure, large deposits of Akelium, and Ironwood trees. The two things, in combination, caused technology to fail when it came too close.

Darius wanted to check out the islands that were just south of their flight path. Lucian adjusted their route, and when the instruments registered what was on the island, they lost control. It was only because of Lucian’s skill as a pilot that the ship glided to the island instead of straight into the ocean.

Celina’s feet touched the sand, and she sighed in relief, paddling a few more feet before standing to walk the rest of the way to the island. Her white hair and fur were soaked with salt water, and she dreaded what that would do to it by the time she returned to civilization. Snorting, Celina began wringing water out of her hair. Her dark blue and black bodysuit were water-resistant, but it had seeped in everywhere it could and made a squishing sound with each movement.

The moment Celina’s paws hit the sandy beach, she began undoing the buckles on her chest plate. Everything needed to be off as quickly as possible. The sun was high above her, but it wouldn’t remain there. Getting dry was her first priority, then finding Lucian and Darius. They would need shelter tonight, freshwater, and food. Celina went down the list, trudging up to a large flat rock to lay the chest plate on it. Then she pulled off her undershirt and spread it over the rock. Thankfully, the boys were nowhere in sight.

* 

This was Celina’s fault.

Darius scowled, looking up into the tree limbs above him. He hit at least a dozen branches on the way down before his parachute snagged on them, bringing him to a stop fifty feet above the ground. He looked down, studying the distance, and realized it was more than fifty feet. 

With a sigh, Darius gripped the ropes to the chute and tugged on them. He could survive the drop, no matter how far it was, but it would waste energy to heal. Gripping the ropes tightly, Darius took a breath. He began pulling himself up, twisting his body until he was upside down, with his hind legs looped around the ropes. He impressed himself, bending forward, still holding the ropes in his hands for leverage to pull himself upright enough to reach a low hanging branch.

The white wolf looked up at the branches, studying the chute. It had torn on the branches, but it would still be useful. He pulled out a knife and walked across the branch to the trunk. Freeing the canvas would be time-consuming, but his training told him it was worth the time. Darius was quick, climbing into the branches and cutting the ones that snagged the cloth. While he worked, he went over what happened. 

Celina started an argument with him, just because he wanted to do a quick scan of the islands to the south of their route. The ensuing heated discussion blew up into a full-blown shouting match. Darius was supposed to be watching the secondary scanning equipment and tried to keep an eye on them. Celina made him so mad, he didn’t see the light flash a warning until it was too late.

Lucian shouted at both of them to shut up as their ship lost power. If Darius hadn’t been distracted, he would have warned him in time to avoid the island, and they would have returned to their route without a problem. Instead, the instrument panels went blank, and their small ship angled downward. Lucian fought with the controls and brought the ship in at an angle on manual controls. Their bat pilot told Darius and Celina to jump, and he would follow.

Darius ran a hand across his forehead, looking up. Lucian should be along any moment unless Celina was injured. Being the only flier in their group, his first priority would be to locate both of them and assist whoever needed it. The next priority was getting everyone together. Darius pulled another bit of canvas loose. It wouldn’t take long to get the rest down.

* 

Lucian soared over the island, first noting where Darius landed, then taking a quick detour to where Celina was. She fell in the ocean, but not far off the island. Celina was a strong swimmer and was walking near the beach when Lucian located her. She didn’t appear to be injured, so he adjusted his course back to Darius. He had crashed into the trees and was more likely to have suffered injury or be in a position he couldn’t walk it off and heal.

The trees were thick, and by the time Lucian got to where Darius landed, most of the chute was out of sight. Lucian smiled because that meant his friend was okay. He circled, looking for an opening big enough to land. “Darius!” Lucian called out to him. “Celina’s on the beach!”

“Lucian!’ Darius shouted back from somewhere in the trees. “Which way is the beach?”

“East,” Lucian called back, finding a break in the trees he could drop into. He folded his wings and landed on a branch. From there, he climbed lower on the tree, looking for Darius. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, perfectly fine,” Darius called back from lower in the trees. Lucian dropped down another branch, swiveling his ears in the direction of Darius’ voice. “I can’t see the sky, Lucian.”

“This is going to be a problem,” stated Lucian, glimpsing white fur moving on the ground beneath him. “I see you, Darius, but this is going to take a while.”

“Yeah. Head to the beach and keep talking to me, so I don’t get lost.” Darius shouted up at him.

“Right!” Lucian jumped to a higher branch. “Let’s go!”

* 

Celina spotted Lucian when he flew over. She waited for him to return, knowing her position would be the easiest one for them to locate. Darius would likely have landed in the trees, and the forest looked thick.

Once her fur was dry, Celina went to work exploring the beach. Her clothes were laying out to dry, but her thick fur kept her decent. Down one side of the beach, she found an old wooden shipwreck. She took a quick look around it and found nothing useful. 

The other side of the beach led to a rockier area. Celina didn’t get far due to the high tide. This area might provide them with an easy food source when the tide went out. She made a note to come back later and returned to the rock she’d left her clothes on.

It was hours before Darius and Lucian emerged from the treeline. When they did, they found Celina built a fire on the beach. Not only that, but she had half a dozen sticks set over the fire with large fish on them, half roasted. She sat reclining on a set of logs, stacked up on rocks to strategically form a couch with a single long piece of driftwood serving as a back. A pile of driftwood sat on the other side of the seating, a safe distance from the fire itself.

The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows over the beach and setting the sand and water on fire with a golden glow. It would have all been romantic if the company had been better.

“Dinner!” Darius jogged out to join Celina. “It would have taken us longer if I didn’t smell the fish cooking! You would not believe how confusing those trees are!”

“You should be glad you didn’t land in them, Celina,” sighed Lucian, walking away from the trees to join her. He dropped the bundled up remains of Darius’ parachute. They could pick them up later.

“Small consolation,” grumbled Celina. “My fur is going to be a mess by the time we get rescued.”

“About that.” Lucian sat next to Celina and draped his arms over his knees, staring at the sand and water before them. “We need to think about how we’re going to signal a rescue. They’ll go to where our signal dropped, but it’s going to take them days to locate us and get here since they will have to use nontechnology based boats. At a minimum, three days.”

“We’ll be fine for three days.” Darius stood by the fire, turning the poles. The fish weren’t done. “Let’s think about this in the morning. I’m starving!”

“I caught those fish and did all the work to get them cooking,” growled Celina. “ Go catch your own fish, Darius.”

“There’s more here than you and Lucian can eat.” Darius returned the growl.

“You underestimate the appetite one gets when they move around a lot of blocks, gather firewood, build a fire, sharpen sticks to spearfish, then make a good place to sit.” Celina rose, her ears forward, and lips pulled back, showing off her teeth. “So yes, you can go and catch your own dinner.”

“I can just take one.” Darius returned the expression, baring his teeth. He wasn’t happy with Celina, to begin with. Denying him food when there was plenty would not be tolerated.

“No, you can not.” Celina stormed toward him, swishing her tail.

“Stop!” Lucian ran to get between them, flaring his wings to block Celina’s view of Darius. “We’re all hungry and cranky. Celina, seriously, we all need our energy. There’s plenty of fish. Where did you catch them? We can go and catch more. Right, Darius?” Lucian looked over his shoulder at Darius.

Darius scowled, but nodded, “I’m fine with catching more fish.”

“I caught them in the tide pools that way.” Celina motioned down the beach to the rocky area. “There should be more in the pools.” She relaxed but didn’t look at Darius when Lucian lowered his wings.

“Let’s go.” Lucian rolled his eyes and began walking. Darius followed, casting Celina a baleful look in passing. Being stuck on an island was bad enough, but being stuck with Celina was going to be a torturous event. She made him so mad.

* 

Celina stared into the fire, nursing her grudge against Darius. He was so irritating, then she returned to one clear fact. This was all his fault. They would not be stranded on an island if it wasn’t for him. Reason cropped up. It would only be a few days, and it would be a good idea to try to get along with Darius.

She went over a variety of options for how to do that. One stood out in her mind as perfect. They were likely to explore the beach and not go into the trees. She could keep her distance from Darius and not talk to him. Keeping Lucian between them would be ideal. Celina settled on that option. Avoid talking to Darius and being too close.

She growled to herself, getting up to put another stick into the fire. The smell of the fish was delicious. She had stuffed the fish with some amazing smelling herbs, and they were smoking, filling the air with a pleasant aroma. Celina closed her eyes and inhaled the smell. It had a relaxing effect, and she returned to her bench, dropping her arms behind the back and putting her muzzle into the air to enjoy the scent.

* 

“You need to stop making Celina mad,” Lucian grumbled, using a knife to sharpen a long stick.

“But it’s so easy!” Darius smirked, working on a stick of his own. “She should try harder not to get mad.”

“Darius, you can be so irritating.” Lucian rolled his eyes and eyed the point of the stick. With the sun setting, it was difficult to see how pointy it was. Then he realized he had the small emergency backpack he had snagged when leaving the ship. He had it strapped to the belt that ran around his hips.

Lucian opened the bag and felt around inside. There should be a flashlight inside. His hand closed on the familiar cylinder, and he pulled it out. It was a small short flashlight. He turned it on and stuck the end in his mouth so he could see what he was doing.

“Where did you get that?” Darius looked over.

“It’s in the emergency pack attached to your parachute.”

Darius blinked, reaching up and realizing that he was still wearing the harness. He unclipped it and pulled it around to reach his own pack and soon had a flashlight out doing the same thing Lucian was.

The pair of them worked together to spear a few more fish, then returned to the campsite to find Celina snoring on the bench. They set up the poles and turned the fish to make sure they didn’t burn, then Lucian sat beside Celina, and Darius sat by the fish to tend to them.

*

The fish weren’t ready until the sun fully set. Lucian roused Celina, and she seemed unusually amiable. It was like she forgot she was mad at Darius. The three of them shared the fish, and that’s when the random laughing began. Lucian stared at the two white wolves. They were acting weird, or maybe they just decided to cooperate.

Lucian shook his head and ran a hand nervously through his wavy black hair. Wolves. Some days they could be confusing. They ate, and then Darius randomly lifted his muzzle to the sky and stared at the glowing half-moon with the second green moon orbiting it. He let out a long mournful howl that sent shivers up Lucian’s back.

Celina tilted her muzzle up the same way Darius did, and howled, her voice musically blending with Darius. Then they howled together. Lucian stared at them in confusion, the fur along the back of his neck prickling. What were they doing?

The two wolves howled again, and again, then they looked at each other and giggled. Lucian’s mouth dropped open. Seriously? Celina rose to her feet and walked toward Darius, swaying her hips in a way that made Lucian uncomfortable. He found Celina attractive, since the day they met, but wow, her tail swished and swayed in rhythm with her hips. What was she doing?

Darius bowed and held out his hand to Celina. She returned the bow, took his hand, and they began dancing. Lucian’s jaw couldn’t fall in further, so he leaned forward and watched, trying to figure out why they were acting so weird.

Darius and Celina, at their best, existed in the same space for a few minutes at a time. Any longer and they were at each other’s throats, or more typically, Celina was at Darius’ throat. He enjoyed provoking her. Dancing was not provoking her.

Lucian got up, hoping to put a stop to this before it got worse. “Darius, Celina? What are you doing?”

“Dancing.” Darius made a low growling noise, his green eyes half-closed. “With my love.”

Lucian almost choked. “Uh, Sheana isn’t here, Darius.” He whispered, glancing at Celina, who appeared utterly oblivious to the conversation going on in front of her.

“She’s right here.” Darius chuckled, leaning in close to Celina until his nose almost touched hers.

“Darius, that is NOT Sheana!” Lucian attempted to get between them, sliding his arms out and spreading his wings.

“Hey, Lucian, get out of the way.” Celina snarled. “I’m trying to dance with Kel.” 

“That isn’t Kel,” hissed Lucian, turning his attention to Celina. “It’s Darius!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Celina bared her teeth at Lucian.

“Get out of the way, Lucian.” Darius grabbed his arm and attempted to get around it. 

Lucian scowled, ending up pushed aside. He staggered, almost falling, then looked around for something to help. Darius and Celina continued dancing along the sandy beach, looking at each other like they were truly in love. Lucian followed them, wringing his hands and trying to think of something.

Celina suddenly sneezed and shook her head. A strange look crossed her face, her lips curling back into a snarl as she found herself face to face with Darius.

The next thing Darius knew, he was sprawled on the ground with a sharp pain in the left side of his head. He laid in the sand for a moment, blinking up at the sky. Celina huffed, heading down the beach hunched over, with her hands balled up into fists. 

“That went about like how I expected it would go,” Lucian grumbled, offering Darius a hand up.

“What just happened? I was dancing with Sheana, and then Celina appears out of nowhere and punches me?” Darius was baffled. He took Lucian’s hand, then brushed the sand off his clothes. 

“Your guess is as good as mine,” grumbled Lucian, swiveling his large ears in Celina’s direction. “I tried to stop you, but you said you were dancing with Sheana when you were actually with Celina.”

Darius made a face at his friend, “I was what?”

“Dancing with Celina.”

“No way.”

“Oh, you were,” Lucian stated in concern. “Nose to nose.”

Darius made a face. “If I ever do that again, you punch me.”

“I’ll do that.” Lucian sighed, turning back to the fire. “We should finish off that fish and get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”


	2. Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shipwrecked Cyantians try to make the best of their situation and explore their temporary home.

“What is your problem with wearing clothes?” Celina glared at Darius as he stripped off his uniform and shook out his white fur.

“I’m covered in fur. I’m still technically clothed,” yawned Darius. He took a moment to stretch, dropping down on all fours in the sand. He dug his hands in and arced his back down, dropping his shoulders and extending his hind paws out behind him. Several loud cracks and pops were heard.

“Lucian, want to see if we can find a better place to camp? We have one good canvas, and one ripped one.” Celina grumbled and turned her attention to the bat.

“I can circle the island pretty fast,” stated Lucian, nodding and getting to his feet. 

“Going to see if I can catch some fish for breakfast.” Darius grabbed the sticks leaning against the fire pit and jogged down the beach in the direction of the tide pools.

Celina tossed a little more wood on the fire. “That should hold it until we get back.” 

“We need to keep a fire going. It’s the only way anyone will find us. We just need to find or make a better shelter.” Lucian looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue, utterly cloudless at the moment. “I can feel the moisture in the air on my wings. It will rain.”

*

Darius threw the spear into the tidepool and brought up a massive eel. He licked his jaws and splashed out of the foot deep pool of water. His catch was big enough to make a good breakfast for all of them. He was just about to step out of the water when something shiny caught his eye.

“Hmm, what is this?” Darius knelt and brushed his hand over the spot, then smiled as the rock appeared to swirl with gold against black. “Zimre.” He gasped. “I bet Sheana would love this. They’re so hard to find!” Darius hopped out of the water and ran back to the campsite. He had a plasma knife in his gear that would make it easy to pry up the zimre, then he could take it back and have something beautiful made for his love.

*

Lucian soared over the island and only found trees and more trees, as far as he could see. Some of them held fruit, and he landed a few times to fill the makeshift bag made of parachute cloth he had looped around his neck for foraging. When it was full, he flew back to the beach where Celina was tending to a fire with big chunks of eel on sticks cooking over it. He landed and spread the cloth out on the sand near the fire.

“It looks like this island is full of food! That’s a good thing since I didn’t see any signs of civilization.” Lucian picked up a small purple fruit and bit into it. “Where’s Darius?”

“No idea,” shrugged Celina, tossing a hand full of the savory herbs she had used the day before onto the fire to add a little more flavor to the eel. “I wouldn’t worry about him.”

“Okay,” sighed Lucian, glancing up at the sky. It was a brilliant shade of blue, without a cloud in sight. “After breakfast, we need to find a place just off the beach for shelter in case there’s a storm. We don’t want to be caught out here.”

“We also need to set up a fire signal, and someone needs to watch for any signs of rescue starting tomorrow.” Celina pointed out, inhaling the aroma coming off the fire and smiling contently.

*

The thin layer of water over the zimre stone hissed as the plasma knife scored the rock around it. Darius cut a large circle around it, wanting to get as large of stone as possible, then he cut around it a second time, angling the blade beneath it. The water hissed into the cut, cooling it quickly as Darius lengthened the blade and went around it a third time, hoping he would get the whole stone out intact. 

Darius pocketed the blade, then slid his fingers around the edge of the stone, rocking his full weight against it. Water sloshed against his legs as he worked his way around the rock. It wobbled a little at the start, then suddenly came loose. Darius crashed back into the pool, losing his grip on the rock as he fell. Swearing, he scrambled to his feet to see if his work yielded the results he was after.

He smiled, retrieving the rock, which was bigger than his head. It was a massive chunk of zimre, swirling gold against black with spots of other shades on the sides. Then Darius looked down into the hole he created and gasped. The entire hole appeared to show nothing but zimre in a rainbow of color against black. There was a vein, right there, near the surface.

A bigger grin spread over Darius’ muzzle, realizing he could gather up as much as he wanted and create so many amazing things for his girlfriend and his mother. Wouldn’t they be surprised? There was so much he would even risk making some himself. There was only one problem. They were on an island that would be tricky to get back to, due to the technology blocking effects.

This was a challenge Darius was eager to take as he started back to the camp, intent on showing off his find to Lucian and Celina. He would need their help transporting it, and there was so much he didn’t mind the prospect of sharing.

*

Celina’s thoughts drifted into an unusual daydream. They were on a beach, a private beach, just she and Kel. She stared at him, standing in the morning sunlight, the golden sun glinting off his grey and white fur. Celina sighed wistfully, her ears tilting to the side and a smile pulling up the corner of her lips.

“Glad it’s a nice warm day.” Lucian smiled, his wings flared to their full extent as he faced the sun. It was a pleasant sensation to stand on the beach with a cool breezing coming off the ocean and the sun warming his wings. He turned to say something Celina, then stopped, noticing the strange expression on her face. “Uh, Celina?”

The white wolf rose to her feet in a smooth motion, striding forward with a sway in her hips that made Lucian back away and swallow. She tilted her head, a wave of curls falling over her bright blue eyes, and she smiled.

“Celina?” Lucian nervously walked back a few more steps into the wet sand. A small wave of ocean foam rolled up the beach, passing over his feet. 

“Want to go for a swim?” Celina inquired, stopping in front of Lucian, batting her eyelashes.

“Uh, Celina?” Lucian stared at her, unsure of what was going on.

“Lucian, Celina, look what I found!” Darius shouted, running across the sound with the zimre in his hands. 

“Oh, look, Darius is back!” Lucian nervously sidestepped a disappointed looking Celina. He ran up to Darius, staring at the rock in his hand. “Wow, that’s amazing! Zimre! A stone that big is worth a fortune!”

“Yeah,” beamed Darius setting the rock down near the fire. “This is only a small chunk of it! There’s a huge vein of it back at the tidepools.” He leaned over the fire, turning one of the sticks holding the cooking eel and inhaling the herbs burning beneath them.

Darius stood up to see Celina come up behind Lucian and wrap her arms around him. The bat shivered and froze, then Darius’ lips pulled back into a snarl. “What is going on here?” he growled, the fur on his neck rising.

“Uh,” Lucian glanced at Celina, then Darius, entirely baffled by what was going on and realizing he was in the middle of something he didn’t want to be in. “Darius?”

“Why is Sheana hugging you?” Darius snarled, showing off his fangs.

“It’s not Sheana! It’s Celina!” Lucian turned, trying to push her off of him. “What is wrong with you two?!” 

“Celina’s nowhere to be seen!” Darius lunged at Lucian, who yelped and flapped his wings quickly, taking to the air just out of Darius’ reach, sending Celina sprawling into the sand. Unable to get to Lucian, Darius ran to Celina, reaching for her to help her back to her feet.

Lucian scowled, circling the pair of them and thinking over what he was seeing. Whatever was going on wasn’t normal. His friends seemed to be in a semi drugged state. They saw things that were not there, and these two were not even remotely attracted to each other. He thought back to what happened prior to them acting strange. Was it something they touch, ate, drank… or smelled?

The bat’s eyes went to the fire. He was sitting at the fire with Celina when she started acting odd. Darius was standing in front of the fire when he suddenly came at him. Lucian swung around the fire, glancing over at Darius and Celina, who were now bickering. Whatever it was had worn off. Lucian landed next to the fire, walking around it.

It wasn’t the food, because neither had eaten it. Was it the wood? No, the wood was just regular wood. Then Lucian noticed the piles of herbs laying out on top of one of the stones near the fire. He picked up a handful and sniffed it. It was pungent and smelled delicious. 

“Celina, Darius!” Lucian called out to them, gripping the herbs in his hand. “Can you come up here for a moment! I think I know what’s causing your problems!”

“Problems? What problems?” snorted Darius, trotting up to the fire with Celina close behind.

“What are you talking about?” Celina added in annoyance.

“It’s weird how you don’t remember any of it,” sighed Lucian. “Okay, Darius, stand on the other side of the fire and watch this.” Darius gave him a confused look, stepping to the other side of the fire as Lucian held his hand close to the fire, catching the herbs on fire. “Smell this.” He held the burning herbs toward Celina.

“I’ve smelled it, it’s so fragrant.” Celina inhaled deeply, and her eyes immediately dilated, and she smiled at Lucian, cocking her head to one side. Lucian took a step back, dropping the herbs and stomping them into the sand. “Kel!”

“I’m not Kel!” Lucian flapped his wings to throw himself back, way from Celina as she started toward him, a smile spreading quickly over her features. Darius stared in awe, ears pricked forward in wonder as Celina came after Lucian, running at him with her arms open. Lucian ended up taking to the air. “I’m not Kel, Celina!” He repeated.

“When did you develop an ability that allows you to fly?” Celina stared up at Lucian in confusion as the bat circled the campsite.

“Wow, all that from just a sniff?” Darius’ jaw dropped in awe, then widened further as Celina shifted her attention to him. “Oh, no, squid, no!” He dropped to all fours and took off down the beach, his tail low and ears back. 

“Come back here, Kel!” Celina cried out mournfully, taking off after him in a sprint.

Lucian sighed, dropping back to the fire and taking a seat. Celina was Darius’ problem now. They would need to make sure not to burn any more of those herbs. He looked from the fire to the sea, noting darkness growing far away. His large radar shaped ears wilted back, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. They were wasting time when they should be building a more secure shelter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, Darius... always naked.... always.


	3. Shelter From the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The threat of an incoming storm forces the stranded Cyantians to seek other, real shelter, while also dealing with a mysterious problem.

“No more herbs,” stated Lucian, waving a handful of leaves in front of Celina and Darius.

“I don’t see the problem,” grumbled Celina.

“You weren’t the one running from your kisses,” Darius growled, rubbing his arm. 

“They cause some sort of hallucinogenic effect.” Lucian set the herbs aside. “We’ll be sure to gather some when we’re rescued because we can probably find some sort of use for them. Now, on to our next order of business, we need to seek shelter.” The bat lifted a wing to gesture to the darkness in the distance. “Now, we need to find a cave or trees that we can make use of quickly. Our number one priority is getting off the beach.”

Both Celina and Darius sighed, looking out over the sea and the ominous clouds gathering far away. Darius’ ears twitched back. “How long do we have?”

“No idea.” Lucian shrugged, “So let’s start by going up and down the shoreline, together.”

“We do have parachute material. It’s water-resistant,” Celina pointed out, motioning to their packs sitting in the treeline.

“Why don’t you fly one way, and we’ll walk the other.” Darius ran a hand across his chin, thinking about it. “Last time, we were looking for food and water. We should be able to make a quick pass.”

“We better hurry, because that storm looks a little closer than it did a few minutes ago,” grumbled Lucian, motioning to the horizon.

*

Once again, Lucian was aloft, soaring over the treeline, peering into it for anything that looked like a cave or even trees big enough to erect a shelter. The ground gently sloped up, and while the trees were thick, the ones near the shore were not big enough to provide protection from a storm. They couldn’t go too far inland, because they could become lost.

Lucian grumbled, soaring higher and looking out over the horizon in all directions. Last time he had flown, there was nothing. The sky was clear enough to see for miles in all directions that time and this one. The bat squinted, looking off into the distance, spotting a few bumps against the sky.

Land.

Lucian rose up higher over the island, catching a gust of wind that threw him far enough up that he could see land. There was definitely land there. That was a good sign. If there was land, then it was possible ships would come closer. The distance was impossible to judge. With a grumble, Lucian folded his wings to glide closer to the island again.

On the wing, he might be able to make it, but it was risky. Flying over land was one thing because Lucian could land and rest at any point. Crossing a large body of water would be a far more significant challenge, and Lucian wasn’t accustomed to long flights. He returned to looking for a cave to serve their immediate needs.

*

Darius and Celina walked just outside the treeline, peering past the trees and thick foliage, searching for any sign of caves or rocks that could serve as a good shield. Like Lucian, they didn’t see anything promising. They had walked for half an hour when they reached a massive wall of rocks crossing the beach, cutting off their path.

In silence, they made their way up the incline, finding a few promising spots. “We’re going to need to go into the trees,” stated Darius, motioning to a rise in the rocks. “I think I see a crevice up there.” He dropped to all fours, darting ahead.

Celina sighed, following him, still walking upright, her tail swishing low behind her. In a few minutes, she lost sight of Darius as he vanished behind a rock wall. She went to where she saw him last and sniffed the air, keeping her eyes open in case he had fallen into something.

“Look down!” Darius’ voice echoed from somewhere nearby. Celina did as he said, spotting a path leading around to the other side of the wall. She walked down it and onto a small ledge. There was a wide crevice on the other side, and the ledge led into it. 

“Boo!” Darius poked his head out of the darkness and shouted. Celina jumped and almost stumbled off the ledge, then caught herself and snarled in response, showing off all her teeth.

“Don’t do that!” She lunged forward, pushing Darius into the cave. “You almost made me fall!”

“But you didn’t!” laughed Darius, easily evading her and vanishing into the cave. “It’s dry in here, and it’s big enough we won’t be stumbling over each other. The rocks outside shield the entrance. We’ll have to position a fire near the opening, but we can stay in here for a while.”

Celina looked around, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light, enough to see that Darius’ observations were correct. It was a good, dry place, probably the best place they were going to find. They would have to move their camp, but that was going to happen no matter where they ended up.

“Looks good,” stated Celina. “Let’s get back to the beach and start moving things. I’m sure we’ll run into Lucian.”

“Food should be done, so we should eat first and wait for Lucian.” Darius headed for the opening. “Maybe grab some of the long grass that’s growing outside on the hill. It’s soft.”

“Darius,” Celina muttered as he passed her. “I need to apologize for my actions.”

“Don’t bother,” grunted Darius in response. “It wasn’t like you were in control of yourself any more than I was. We should both be apologizing to Lucian.”

“You always bring out the worst in me,” growled Celina, following Darius out onto the ledge and up the trail.

“I can’t imagine why,” Darius laughed, trotting up over the top of the rocks, then down the other side. “Everyone loves me!”

“In your wildest dreams!” Celina called out after him, picking up speed. “You’re so annoying!”

“You’re just jealous!” The laughter continued as Darius broke into a run. “Last one to the campsite gathers firewood!” He dropped to all fours, and after another low growl, Celina did the same, racing after him with little hope of actually catching up.

*

Lucian returned to the campsite a little bit after Celina and Darius. The pair of them were enjoying fire-roasted eel and fruit without any sign of disagreement. Cupping his wings, Lucian angled down to land near the fire, executing a flawless landing.

“We found a place,” Celina announced, taking a big bite of eel. “How about you?”

“Didn’t find any caves or sheltered places,” sighed Lucian. Then he smiled and added, “But I did see land!”

“Really?” Both Darius and Celina looked at him, their ears perking forward.

“I don’t know how far away it is, but I did see land to the East,” Lucian grinning, picking up the last stick of eel resting near the fire. He picked off a piece and chewed on it thoughtfully. “When the storm passes, I’ll take a better look and see if I can get a good idea of how far away it is.”

The three of them looked out over the beach and to the horizon. It was much darker, and the breeze off the ocean was more refreshing than it had been. Darius scowled, twitching his ears aside. “Let’s finish eating and get to moving stuff to the cave. This storm looks nasty, and I don’t want to be caught out in it.”

“For once, I agree with you,” sighed Celina, twitching her nose at the overwhelming smell of the ocean coming in over the waves. “We should figure out a way to secure the torn sail over the entrance. I’ll take care of that and gather wood for the fire.”

“I’m going to go to the tide pool when we get everything moved and see if I can find some more fish for later.” Darius glanced at Celina. “I’ll help you get wood too.”

“We all need to gather wood,” Lucian chimed in. “While it’s dry.”

“Yeah, by the way, Lucian, sorry about earlier.” Celina cringed, making the apology quickly.

“Wasn’t your fault.” Lucian grinned at her fondly, his large ears flipping backward. “I forgive you.”

“You still owe me for all those years ago when I rescued you,” laughed Celina.

“I do.” The bat smiled, turning his attention to eating his breakfast.

*

The three of them worked quickly once they were done eating, first showing Lucian the cave, then moving everything from their camp to the new campsite. Celina figured out a way to position the torn parachute cloth over the entrance, securing it to the surrounding rocks with rope. It would shield it from rain blowing in with the wind.

Darius took his plasma knife to the rock outside the entrance, carving out a hollow for a fire that would be protected from the wind and hopefully keep the smoke from flowing back inside the cave. If they had to build a fire in the cave, they would, but Darius had more intentions than just warmth for this one.

While Lucian and Celina went up onto the hill to gather grass and firewood, Darius went back down to the water on the other side and found tide pools and more zimre, exposed to the elements. It was perplexing, just how much of the valuable gem was available on the island. That would be a mystery to look into at another time.

Darius collected several large shellfish, big ones that could slowly cook in their shells. He collected large leaves, wrapped them, then slid them inside the hollowed out fire pit. Small flat rocks were placed over them, then Darius started a small fire and left it burning to help Lucian and Celina gather wood and more materials to make them comfortable.

The storm rolled in slowly, making its presence known with a wail. Howling fiercely, the wind picked up, whipping the tall grasses on the hill as the trio of Cyantians tried to hold onto the loads they had in their arms. They returned to the cave, then rushed back out again to grab more firewood, as much as they could carry in a short time.

By the time the storm hit, they were ready. The first few droplets of rain caught them outside, but they had as much wood packed inside the dry cave as they could get, plus more protected by the canvas. Together, they sought refuge inside, sitting on a parachute cloth mattress folded over piles of soft grasses. If it weren’t for the raging storm outside, it would have been cozy. Instead, the storm brought darkness, streaks of lightning over a black clouded sky, and wind, shrieking howling wind. Thunder shook the ground outside, and they could hear the waves crashing far below them.

The intensity of the storm was stunning as rain and hail pelted the parachute cloth outside, the wind whipping against it. It held, keeping the fire going on the outside and the cave comfortably warm and smoke-free on the inside. They sat in silence, marveling at the sounds, sitting and listening with nothing else to do. 

There was one thought going through all of their heads. If they had not worked together, they could have all been stuck outside in that storm, drenched, being hit by hail, watching a light show that threatened their lives if it struck anywhere near them. Waves could have washed up onto the lower areas of the shore, possibly washing them away.

They sat, their eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Listening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, do I have some use for those herbs other than making two characters who despise each other want to make out? I might.


End file.
